Israel’s News Anchor Ghadir Kamal Meriach

Ghadir Kamal Meriach, Israel’s national news anchor for Channel 1’s evening news cast, joined the Center for Women & Democracy’s delegation for an informed conversation about the news and politics in Israel. What we got was also an informed conversation about how the U.S. can learn from Israel’s journey under a conservative, religious, populous prime minister.

Gradir, speaking off the cuff and from the heart, said that she and her Israeli colleagues watched the 2016 U.S. election with the sense that they had experienced something similar when Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was elected. Upon election Netanyahu quickly discounted the news media and turned to religious conservatives as his advisers, she said. The credibility of the news media in question, the prime minister turned from what she and others say is a majority progressive population.

Gradir said that she wished that American media and progressives could learn from the mistakes she feels were made in Israel a decade ago — among them failing to bridge the divide between populists and progressives, failing to uphold the value of an independent news media.

Read more about the glass ceilings that Ghadir (which means stream) faces as a nationally important woman broadcast journalist in multi-cultural, multi-religious Israel by clicking here.